Four years ago, Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential nominee in at least two decades to outspend the Republican challenger. The incumbent president shouldn’t expect the same advantage this time.

To make his closing argument to Iowa voters on the day of the Jan. 3 caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spent $1,000 to air a minute- long television ad during one of the Des Moines market’s top- rated morning news programs.

The House Democratic fundraising committee heads into the remaining months of the midterm campaign with more than twice as much as cash as its Republican counterpart after a series of victories in special elections.